


It's Wasteland, Baby

by bainel, Saturn_Silk



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Blood and Violence, F/F, Guns, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:02:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bainel/pseuds/bainel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saturn_Silk/pseuds/Saturn_Silk
Summary: "Her eyes snapped back to the creature as her hand closed on the cold steel of the gun and her heart, hammering in her throat, stopped suddenly. His drooling face was right above hers. She saw the flash of the teeth. She could feel the stench of rotting flesh coming from his body."or Zombie AU
Relationships: Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith
Comments: 41
Kudos: 57





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to this fever dream of a fic that [Saturn_Silk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saturn_Silk) and I had many moons ago at 2 AM and that is finally here.  
> Enjoy!

**ZELDA**

The sweaty hands holding the steering wheel in a vice-like grip started to tremble. She tried, with all her might, to ignore the protesting growls of the engine when she slammed the gas pedal all the way down to the floor. The earsplitting gunshots coming from the back of the hearse as Ambrose and Prudence kept firing the revolvers, the urgent voices, screaming at each other, trying to make sense of the whole situation… She wanted to ignore them all. Pretend it was only some kind of background noise, but the memories from that morning kept flashing in her mind. She tried to find a logical explanation of what was going on.

She really wished she could get the disturbing image of the _things_ chasing them away from her head. And she wished really hard she could not _see_ more of those things stumbling from between the trees on both sides of the road at the sound of gunshots echoing through the woods. Focusing on the road ahead of her and not on looking in the side mirrors, she pushed the gas pedal even further into the floor, willing the damned old hearse to go faster. Against her own will, her eyes drifted to the dashboard.

The most colorful string of curse words left her mouth in one breath. The flashing red light kept pulling her attention away from the road.

“What is it, aunt Zee?” The panicked voice of the girl sitting in the back of the car brought her back to reality.

“We’re running out of gas,” she answered reluctantly after a beat of silence. 

“What?!” A chorus of raised voices boomed around her. She had to think fast. If her calculations were correct, they still had about ten kilometers worth of gas. Not enough to get them to their final destination. _Fuck,_ she thought to herself. There was only one solution that came to her mind. 

“We’ll have to run the rest of the way.”

“Zelds…” Hilda’s voice, strangled with fear made her insides twist. She spared a glance for her sister sitting in the passenger seat, clutching a big kitchen knife. The terror written all over Hilda’s face was enough to make her tighten her grip on the steering wheel and focus on the road once again. She had to be strong and confident for all of them.

“It’s not that far away from here,” she tried to convince herself as much as the rest. They could make it. They _had to_ make it.

“But-,” But at the same time, before anyone else could protest some more, the hearse made a strange noise. Zelda looked at the dashboard and felt her heart skip a beat and her insides flipped unpleasantly in her stomach. Her whole body seemed to be buzzing with adrenaline and fear.

“There’s no time to argue!” She yelled. The urgency in her voice made everyone listen intently. She looked into the rear-view mirror and caught her nephew’s eyes. “Ambrose and Prudence, take your revolvers and you’ll lead the way, I’ll take the shotgun and will go behind our group. We’ll have to move quickly.”

“We’re almost out of ammunition,” The boy’s apologetic tone reached her ears and panic gripped her throat. 

“Fuck. Okay, then, listen to me,” The wheels turning in her brain were deafening; her mind was working at an enormous speed. There was no other choice than-, “When the car stops, everyone gets out at once and runs. We’re still twenty minutes away. I’ll stay behind with the shotgun and cover for you.” Immediately, the other four people in the car started to protest, but at the same time, the hearse’s growls started to become louder and louder, and they started to slow down. They were running out of time, so she yelled, “End of discussion! I’ll be right behind you!”

Zelda could see her sister out of the corner of her eye, shooting her worried glances, but she tried to ignore her. She could also feel Sabrina, trying to burn out a hole in the back of her neck with the intensity of her stare. Ambrose and Prudence kept firing the revolvers out of the opened window in the back with what little ammunition they had left.

She prayed to whoever was listening that they somehow make it, but the car was slowing down more and more by the second, even when she kept pushing the pedal into the floor. It was moving slower and slower until finally… It stopped completely in the middle of the road.

“Run!” She screamed at the rest of them, grabbing her shotgun lying in between the seats. She opened the door and jumped out of the car.

She could hear the voices of the rest of her family, shouting instructions and directions to each other. She shot a glance to her left just in time to see them running in between the trees on the opposite side of the road. And a fraction of a second later she heard a sound that made her blood run cold. She turned around and saw them. The adrenaline mixed with fear pumping through her veins was the only thing that gave her the strength to remain upright and for her knees not to give in under her weight at the sight before her.

Three.

Three creatures, running in her direction, stumbling over their own feet, giving an impression of not being entirely aware of how their bodies should move. In another life, they could be humans but their skin, peeking out from under their ragged clothes, looked rotten. It seemed to be melting in some places, revealing the bloody muscles underneath. Their eyes were milky white and empty, with no expression. They were making grunting, growling, and hissing noises that made the hair stand at the back of her neck.

The closest one almost reached the back of the hearse already. Without thinking, acting as if on autopilot, she lifted the shotgun, aimed, just like her father had taught her back when she was still just a little girl, fired, and with an earsplitting noise hit the mark perfectly, splattering the insides of the creature’s skull in all directions.

“Auntie!” She heard Sabrina’s scream coming from within the forest, making her heartbeat even faster. Were they in trouble? Without thinking she started to run in their direction, clutching the gun in her hands. She was grateful she decided to wear jeans that day, but she cursed herself for not picking more comfortable shoes. The boots on a post and a platform may look stylish, but running in them turned out to be a pain.

“Move, dumbass!” Prudence’s angry voice echoed through the woods.

“But-”

“There’s no time!” This time it was Hilda’s voice she heard. It would seem as if the rest was making their way to their final destination. 

Careful not to trip but also making sure to go fast enough to catch up with the others, she ran into the forest, following her family. Through the sound of the wind soughing in her ears, she could hear them in the distance, moving through the woods, but she could also hear the two remaining creatures right behind her.

She weaved her way between the vibrantly green trees and bushes, crushing the grass, the freshly bloomed flowers, herbs, and weeds under her feet. Panting and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her side, she moved further into the forest. She was sure her lungs would refuse to work any second now, burning with a white-hot flame. Sweat was rolling down her temple, but she kept telling herself that the building was not that far away. The shotgun felt heavy in her tired arms. How long yet?

She couldn’t hear the rest anymore; they had to move further away, way out of her hearing range.

She burst through the bushes, and into a small clearing, bathed in the early Spring’s sun, full of blooming daisies and dandelions. Realizing that the growls coming from behind her grew louder, she looked over her shoulder and saw that one of the creatures came uncomfortably close to her. She spun around and aimed. A second later the creature was lying motionlessly on the grass, with a wide hole in its stomach.

She turned on her heel, wanting to continue her run, but her foot twisted unpleasantly. Losing her balance she threw her arms forward out of instinct, letting go of the gun, to lessen the impact of her fall. She felt a sudden pain in her ankle and she couldn’t help the yelp that escaped her lips. She fell to the ground, her head hitting something hard, making her see the bright stars under her eyelids.

At the same time, the third creature appeared between the bushes. He saw her immediately and rushed in her direction. Purely out of instinct her body started to move, crawling backward, away from the creature still advancing on her. With the last ounce of strength she had, she reached out to blindly search for her gun. She turned her head to locate the weapon and saw it barely a few centimeters away from her fingertips.

Her eyes snapped back to the creature as her hand closed on the cold steel of the gun and her heart, hammering in her throat, stopped suddenly.

His drooling face was right above hers. She saw the flash of the teeth. She could feel the stench of rotting flesh coming from his body.

There was a swishing sound of something cutting through the air.

An arrow appeared between the creature’s eyes.

The world spun around her.

Her head and ankle hurt. Her sight got blurry.

Everything went black.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the lovely comments on the previous chapter, we really appreciate them. We never thought that a humble little fic about zombies would be received so well.  
> We hope that this chapter will answer _some_ questions.

**PRUDENCE**

They ran up the stone steps of the big building in the middle of the woods, burst through the door into a cool room and slammed it shut behind themselves. Panting, her heartbeat thundering in her ears, she bent down to prop her hands onto her knees. She felt a sharp pain in her side, her lungs burned as she struggled to catch her breath. Right next to her Sabrina was in a similar state. The girl slid down the nearest wall, right next to her blonde aunt who had put her head between her knees.

After the brightness of the green forest outside, the entrance hall gave off the impression of being dark and gloomy. The high ceiling, the walls, the tiled floor, the statue in the middle of the room… All of it looked cold and coated with shadows in comparison to the woods, warmed by the early Spring’s sun.

“What the fuck was that?” she heard Ambrose’s angry voice somewhere to her left. Raising her head a little she caught his eyes. He was still leaning on the door, holding it shut as if convinced he could prevent anyone from entering the building after them. He was staring at her questioningly, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed.

“Iㅡ,” but before she could make a snarky comment about none of them listening to her, she fell quiet as the sound of quickly approaching footsteps cut through the silence of the empty entrance hall. Prudence straightened up her spine and turned in the direction of the newcomer, still trying to calm down her breath.

A tall, dark-skinned woman, dressed in a floor-length pale blue dress floated into the room, the sound of her steps bouncing off of the tiled floor. Her kind yet alert eyes swept the scene and stopped on Prudence’s face. She could see the woman’s eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“Prudence?” she asked, her voice thick with a french accent. She stepped closer, concern marking her face. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Sorry for barging in so suddenly,” Prudence breathed out, stepping closer to the woman, “The Academy was the closest place. We need shelter.”

“Shelter?” repeated Marie. Her eyes searched the girl’s face and then moved lower to her hand. Prudence realized she was still clutching the revolver that Ambrose had hurriedly thrust into her palm barely half an hour ago. Marie’s gaze traveled from the gun to the big kitchen knife in Hilda’s hand, to the other revolver that Ambrose had dropped on the floor the moment they entered the building, to the distressed look on Sabrina’s face who was still sitting on the floor with her aunt, and came back to Prudence’s face.

“Come to my office. You can tell me everything there.”

*****

She walked quickly down the wooden staircase, passing by the many pictures and paintings on the walls, trying to wrap her head around the things she saw mere minutes ago. She was still scrolling down her phone. The news flooding her feed were hard to ignore, and the images and videos she saw made her blood run cold.

She got to the ground floor, locked her phone and slipped it into the back pocket of her ripped jeans. She had to break the news to the others.

Walking into the kitchen bathed in the warm morning light coming in through the windows above the sink she noticed Sabrina sitting at the wooden table, munching on an apple, and reading a book. The girl looked up at the sound of her footsteps and smiled. 

“Where is everyone?” she asked, noting the absence of the girl’s aunts that usually spent their mornings in the kitchen, reading and cooking whatever new recipe has struck their fancy. Prudence noticed a newspaper laying on the tabletop, clearly waiting to be picked up again.

“In the embalming room,” said Sabrina, “There’s been a new corpse delivered this morning and Ambrose says he found something weird on it.”

“Something weird on it?” she repeated scrunching her eyebrows but Sabrina just shrugged. An unpleasant chill ran down her spine. Could it beㅡNo, she thought to herself decidedly.

She was about to suggest to Sabrina they go and find the rest because there’s something she had to show them but at that exact moment two women entered the kitchen arguing between themselves.

“ㅡsaid there was no funny business with the corpse,” said Zelda Spellman rolling her eyes. She walked towards the table and sat down. “The boy was attacked by a wild dog and bitten to death.”

“Maybe they missed something!” insisted Hilda, looking at her sister with concern, but Zelda just picked up her newspaper, opened it at whatever page she left off, and disappeared behind it. Prudence noted some foreign-looking words on the paper.

“There’s nothing weirdㅡ”

“But the marksㅡ”

“Suggest simply that his blood has settled in his buttocks,” said Zelda angrily, lowering her newspaper to glare at her sister.

“Miss Spellmanㅡ,” Prudence started, trying to get the women’s attention, but to no avail. Sabrina, being all too familiar with her aunts’ quarrels, and sensing this discussion could easily escalate into something more, quietly excused herself from the kitchen taking her book with herself and making a face at Prudence.

“I think we should call the coroner andㅡ”

“Hilda, the boy was found in the forest, he laid there for some time before someone had found him. It explains the sped-up decomposition.” Zelda drawled, done with the conversation. “If the coroner had found anything out of place they wouldn’t have sent him to us so soon.”

Hilda ignored her sister’s tone of voice and continued, “They found him only twenty-four hours later and this poor thing is already decaying! It doesn’t make sense!”

Prudence was growing impatient watching the two women bickering. She knew from prior experience that if they were left to their own devices, their arguments could last hours.

“Miss Spellman,” She tried again, louder this time as she walked towards the table.

“Yes, Prudence? What is it?” Zelda didn’t even bother to look up at her as she came to stand at the head of the table. 

“Have you watched the news today?” 

“I hadn’t had the chance yet, no, because my sister and my nephew decided to be dramatic first thing in the morning.” Prudence couldn’t see her face, but she could practically feel the eye roll that Zelda made as she spoke. 

“I have to show you something.” 

She didn’t know if it was the urgency in her voice that caught Zelda’s attention or her need for peace and quiet, but she placed her paper down flat on the kitchen table with a deep sigh and motioned for her to continue.

Prudence slid her phone out of her jeans, unlocked it, and placed it on the table. Hilda’s interest seemed to peak as she moved around to stand next to her sister and look above her shoulder. Prudence opened the news app and scrolled to the video she saw just minutes ago and pressed play.

Instantly the kitchen was filled with the sounds of terrified screams. A part of the video’s view was obscured by what seemed to be a dumpster, giving the impression that the owner was hiding behind it. The image, filmed on a mobile phone, in portrait mode no less, was shaky, making it obvious that the hand holding the phone was trembling. Yet the view was clear enough for them to see people running down the main road. It seemed as if they were running from something, although it wasn’t clear who or what was chasing them. Some looked back over their shoulders as they sprinted, looks of pure terror etching their faces. Others were shoving slower people out of their way, pushing them to the ground mercilessly. They could hear the panting of the person behind the camera, making it obvious that the cameraman was running mere seconds ago, as well. 

A bloodcurdling scream echoed out above every other noise as the cameraman panned to the source. A girl laid on the floor, writhing in a seizure-like manner. A man in ragged clothes, with greenish skin, was on his knees hovering over her with his head buried in her abdomen. She screamed again, even louder this time, and then stilled. “Jesus,” they heard the cameraman’s voice.

Suddenly the camera’s mode switched, revealing the identity of its owner. It was a young man, no older than twenty. His eyes were wild and sweat was dripping down his forehead.

“Did you see!?” he practically shouted. “One of those...things, just bit that girl! If you are anywhere near Riverdale or the surrounding towns I suggest you get out! Grab your family andㅡ”

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence the man’s eyes rounded almost comically as he started backing up. He connected with the wall behind him, rendering him trapped. “No, please! Pleaㅡ” The phone fell out of his hands, facedown, causing the screen to go black. The man uttered one last guttural scream and the video ended.

“That was live-streamed from Riverdale just a couple of hours ago,” Prudence said as she grabbed her phone off the table again.

“Well, this is clearly just some stunt,” Zelda said dismissively the moment the video ended and reached for her newspaper again. 

“A flashmob, maybe? Remember that one time there was a flashmob at Dr. Cee’s?” Hilda was already walking away from the table in the direction of the stove. “Blimey, at first I thought they were trying to rob the shop but then they started to sing!”

“It’s on every news site! This is not a stunt or some idiots singing and dancing Mamma Mia! It’s fucking zombies!” Prudence’s frustration was rising. How were they not taking this seriously? 

“No need for such language,” Zelda said flatly from behind her paper. 

“You’re not my mother so don’t tell me what to do.”

“You’re right, I’m not, but when you’re spending time under my roof you will abide by my rules.”

Prudence took a chance and glared at Zelda, knowing full well she wouldn’t know from behind her newspaper. 

“Sister, what would you say about your creamy pesto chicken for dinner today?” Zelda said absently as a short silence fell.

“That’s a good idea!”

Prudence sighed and turned on her heel stalking out of the kitchen, feeling oddly defeated. If the Spellman sisters wouldn’t listen she’d find someone else who would. She strode into the parlor to find Sabrina sitting on the couch, typing furiously on her phone with her headphones in her ears, and the book from earlier resting on her lap.

“Hey, Spellman, I want to show you something.”

Sabrina nodded absently, not even looking up from her phone, “Sure, what is it?”

“A video. You need to see it.”

“Just send it to me.”

And so Prudence did. She sat down on the opposite end of the couch, nervously bouncing her leg as she waited for Sabrina to watch the video. Something felt so off about this, yet she couldn’t put her finger on it. Wanting to distract herself, Prudence tried to focus on something else. Her eyes traveled to the pictures on the wall above the fireplace. The Spellman sisters with their late brother. Sabrina and Ambrose when they were still little kids. Some other people that Prudence had never seen in her life. A small painting of a basset hound. There were also two revolvers hanging on the wall between all of the pictures. She looked away and noticed the unfinished jigsaw puzzle on top of the desk in the corner. 

She could hear Hilda bustling around the kitchen, no doubt starting to work on dinner even though it was still morning, and humming some song or another under her breath. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Zelda entering the office next to the front door, mumbling something about how much she hated paperwork.

“Holy shit, Prudence, what is this?” Sabrina’s eyebrows were furrowed as she looked up from her phone. 

But before Prudence could formulate a response, a loud noise reverberated from the foyer. 

“Aunties!” Ambrose’s voice boomed through the house and Prudence felt her stomach twist. She could tell something was wrong. She jumped off the couch and ran into the foyer, with Sabrina following swiftly. 

“What is it?” Zelda’s voice was coated in irritation as she stepped into the doorway of the office. 

“We need to go! Now!” Ambrose was leaning against the small door that led to the embalming room, pressing his back against it with all of his body weight. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he swallowed thickly.

“What is going on, love?” Hilda had come to inspect the commotion too. Her hand was gripping a butcher's knife and the other a dishcloth as she dried the utensil. 

Before Ambrose could answer, a loud bang echoed from the door and it shook in its framework. Ambrose pushed up against the door more forcefully and hopped an inch off the wood on impact. All of a sudden, the wood gave way with a sickening crack. A hand shot through the gaping hole in the wood, grasping for purchase. The slimy-looking fingers grazed Ambrose’s shoulder and he bolted away from the door. 

“Auntie, grab your shotgun!” He shouted and ran in the opposite direction. Prudence followed him into the parlor and watched as he ripped two revolvers off the wall before moving to the desk in the corner of the room, frantically rummaging through its contents. 

“Ambrose, whatㅡ?”

“There’s no time to explain!” Ambrose said as he grabbed the drawer and pulled it out of the desk turning it upside down, raining its contents all over the carpet. He bent down and grabbed what he was looking for, two boxes of .38 ammo, before thrusting one of the boxes and a revolver into Prudence’s hands. 

They jogged back into the foyer just in time to see Zelda cock her shotgun, her own larger box of ammo tucked underneath her arm. Hilda was still standing frozen in the same spot, watching as the door shook one last time, before swinging off its hinges and landing on the carpet with a loud thud. 

A horrible sight met their eyes. A hunched-over young naked man, covered in scratches and bite marks, and with stitches on his chest creating a letter ‘Y’. His wounds looked infected, and they emitted the pungent smell of rotting meat. The skin of the manㅡthe creatureㅡwas greenish and clammy. His empty, white eyes were filled with rage. Spit drooled down his chin when a guttural snarl escaped his mouth.

Prudence’s stomach twisted with terror and disgust.

Ambrose was frantically trying to get bullets into his revolver dropping a couple of them to the floor in the process. 

“Outside! Now!” Zelda took charge of the situation nearly pushing Ambrose out of the door. Sabrina grabbed Hilda by the arm before they too exited the house. 

Prudence stood rooted to the spot, not able to tear her eyes away from the fast advancing creature. It looked just like the one in the video. It was dangerously close and Prudence tried to back away, but she realized it was too late. It was moving way faster than she anticipated. 

Without warning, her left ear started ringing and she realized Zelda fired at the zombie from beside her. The bullet connected with its shoulder causing its arm to be ripped off clean. Blood and tissue spattered against the wall causing Prudence’s stomach to clench uncomfortably. 

The zombie threw its head back and let out an animistic screech. 

Prudence felt a warm, slightly clammy hand latch on to hers and allowed Zelda to lead her out of the house.

*****

They sat squeezed together on the comfortable leather couch in Marie’s office. By the time she finished recounting her tale, her throat was as dry as sandpaper. It was way past noon when her story came to a stop. The sun was high in the sky and the warm sunbeams entered the office through the windows behind Marie’s desk.

Silence fell upon them once Prudence stopped talking. Hilda, sitting to her right, was clutching a half-empty cup of strong tea spiked with whiskey that Marie had poured for her the moment they stepped into the office. Ambrose and Sabrina’s faces were ashen; they were still deep in shock. The woman sitting on the leather armchair opposite of the couch looked at them all, her face set into an unreadable mask. Prudence scrunched her eyebrows.

“You don’t believe me,” she said. Marie’s eyes landed on her and, not for the first time since they knew each other, Prudence felt as if the woman’s gaze was X-raying her. 

“I do,” she said after a second of silence, “I’m just trying to process all of this… You said there is a video?”

She stood up from the couch, took her phone out of her pocket, and walked over to stand next to Marie. She found the video easily enough; the news application was still open when she unlocked her phone. When she pressed play and the screams filled the room, Prudence heard Sabrina speak up for the first time since they set foot in the Academy.

“How is all of this possible?” she asked. “I mean, zombies don’t exist, right?”

No one replied to that. Prudence watched with a heavy heart as Marie watched the video. Her face was frozen with a shock when she took in the images on the screen. The video ended and Marie looked at her with wide eyes.

“This thing attacked you?” Marie’s gaze moved to the others. No one answered her; everyone still in too much of a shock.

“This can’t be real,” Prudence heard Hilda’s whisper as she gripped the cup in her hands a bit harder.

“I’m afraid,” said Marie, “no joke could be this realistic. The girl that gets attacked in the videoㅡThe blood is real, I’m certain. You said that the man who attacked you was dead?”

Everyone looked at Ambrose. The boy was still wearing his protective apron which he always wore while working in the embalming room.

“I was just starting to prepare him,” his voice shook a little bit when he spoke, “and I noticed those purplish marks. And his wounds looked as if they were infected. So I called the aunties down into the embalming room, but aunt Zelda said it’s nothing weird. So I started to clean him up, but then the body moved.”

He closed his eyes as if trying to get rid of the image burned under his eyelids. When he spoke again his voice sounded stronger.

“I didn’t know what was happening, it looked like something from ‘The Night of The Living Dead’. It jumped on me and IㅡI pushed it away and ran.”

“Did it bite you?” asked Sabrina, her eyes wide as saucers. Ambrose shook his head.

Prudence looked at Marie who observed the exchange silently. There was a confused look on her face as if she tried to remember something. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at everyone present in the room. And thenㅡ

“Where is Zelda?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where is Waldo, err, I mean, Zelda?  
> We live for validation! Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated. Thank you!


End file.
